Irish ship to run Gaza blockade, bring food to Palestinians

A 1200-ton cargo ship that was abandoned in July 2009 off the coast of Ireland will be used by the Irish Free Gaza movement to try and run a Gaza blockade to deliver food and supplies to Palestinians.
The boat has been repainted and refitted and is called the 'Rachel Corrie' after an American activist crushed to death in 2003 by an Israeli military bulldozer as she attempted to prevent the demolition of a Palestinian home in Gaza.
Derek Graham one of the organizers of the flotilla, "We are doing this to show the people of Gaza that they are not alone. There's nothing going into Gaza, no aid. We are prepared to run the blockade to try and get aid in. We have done it before. Out of eight previous attempts, five were successful.”
The Free Gaza Movement along with the Turkish humanitarian organization, IHH, the European Campaign to End the Siege of Gaza and the Greek and Swedish Boat to Gaza organizations will sail 8 boats led by the Rachel Corrie loaded with building supplies as well as taking 600 passengers and journalists at the end of May to run the Gaza blockade.
The Rachel Corrie was abandoned in the town of Dundalk, near the Irish border by its owners after it was discovered they had not paid the crew, all from Lithuania. Free Gaza activists bought the ship for $100,000.
Organizers say that on May Day weekend, a mini convoy of vans loaded with medical supplies from eight different cities in Ireland and England will be delivering and loading these supplies on the ship.
People in Norway have donated more than 6 tons of paper and school supplies with a goal of 25 tons to be loaded as cargo.
Israel refuses to allow paper and supplies in for the children.
One of Free Gaza’s organizers, Caoimhe Butterly, stated "The public response to the cargo ship has been immense, and we hope that in the remaining three weeks before we set sail, communities across Ireland will continue to mobilize and gather supplies. The humanitarian crisis in Gaza is a symptom of Israel’s siege and Occupation, and this flotilla will spotlight the devastating collective punishment that is being imposed on Palestinians in the Gaza Strip."

P Cooper

Banking crisis and the economic recession

Last night, I spoke about the severe impact that the banking crisis and the economic recession have had on this country and its people.


Watch a video of my speech from last night here, and share your comments.
This crisis has damaged the livelihoods of our citizens. It has tarnished our international reputation. It has required the Irish taxpayer to give unprecedented financial support to the banking sector. This has caused much anger which I share. The actions we are taking to sort out the banks and the public finances are crucial to ensure our return to prosperity and jobs growth. And we are recognised internationally as a country that has faced up to these problems and is dealing with them effectively. We now have in place a solid platform to rebuild our banking sector, so I think this is a good time to answer the key questions concerning the near collapse in the Irish banking system.
Watch this video, and join our discussion here:http://fiannafail.ie/BankingNextStepsLe gach dea guí,Brian Cowen TDTaoiseach

Evening seminar on war consequences and Life in Gaza

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

Dear Friends

The Islamic Cultural Centre of Ireland (ICCI) would like to invite you to

an Evening Seminar with a talk on 'The War Consequences and Life in Gaza'

Presented by Mr. Nasim Ahmed from Palestinian Return Centre, London.

This open forum will be chaired by MEP Proinsias De Rossa.

The seminar will take place on Thursday 13th May from 6.30pm to 8.30pm at ICCI, Clonskeagh, Dublin 14

for further information contact at 01-208 0000 or email to ahmed@islamireland.ie

All welcome

We are looking forward to seeing you there

يتشرف المركز الثقافي الإسلامي بدعوتكم لحضور ندوة مسائية

تحت عنوان

"إكتشف الحقيقة، الحياة في غزة و الدمار الذي خلفته الحرب"

يعرض المأساة الأستاذ نسيم أحمد من مركز العودة الفلسطيني بلندن

يرأس الجلسة السيد برونشس ديروسا عضو البرلمان الأوربي من إيرلندا

الزمان: الخميس 13 مايو 2010 على تمام الساعة 6:30 إلى الساعة 8:30 مساءً

المكان: صالة الرياضة بالمركز القلفي الإسلامي بإيرلندا

ahmed@islamireland.ie لمزيد من المعلومات الرجاء الإتصال بالمركز على 012080000 او البريد الألكتروني

و الدعوة عامة

Rally to remember Tyrrelstown

Rally to remember Tyrrelstown stabbing victim Monday, 5 April 2010
Friends and neighbours of the 15-year-old boy who was stabbed to death in west Dublin held a rally at his school in Hartstown this afternoon in his memory.
Toyosi Shittabey and four of his friends were on their way back home from the National Aquatic Centre on Good Friday at about 8pm when the stabbing happened.
Today friends of Toyosi came to pay tribute to the boy at his school.
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Each lit a candle under his official school photograph, which had been taken just a few weeks ago, and they left their own private messages of condolence to his family.
A candlelit vigil will be held at 7pm tonight in Tyrrelstown.
Friends and neighbours have paid tribute to the dead youth - describing him as 'a very quiet boy'.
The principal of Hartstown Community School said the students of the school are deeply saddened and very shocked by what has happened to Toyosi.
John Bean described Toyosi as a much-loved member of the school community.
He described Toyosi as a 'great guy' and full of life, who just wanted to be busy and active all the time.
He said Toyosi brought great honour to himself and to the school through his achievements in football and athletics.
His class teacher, Julie Reilly, said that Toyosi was a loved and popular student both with his peers and teachers and that he always had a big smile on his face. She said he was a great athlete and a super footballer and he will be sadly missed by all his classmates and throughout Hartstown Community School.
Both spoke at the rally held in honour of Toyosi in his school today.
Also speaking at today's event Shaykh Umar Al-Qadri, Imaam of Al Mustafa Islamic Centre in west Dublin, said his message to the community and especially to the Muslim community is to remain calm at this moment and remain peaceful, he said that is the message of Islam.
The 15-year-old was studying to do his Junior Cert at Hartstown Community School and was a keen footballer.
Tributes have also been paid to Toyosi from Shelbourne Football Club.
The youngster was involved with the team and also played for Insaka-Ireland Football, the football club for African children in Ireland.
Last night, two men were charged in connection with his death.
23-year-old Michael Barry of Pigeon House Road, Dublin, was charged with possession of a weapon, believed to be a hockey stick.
38-year-old Paul Barry, from Pearse Street, Dublin was charged with the manslaughter of the teenager. He is due to before Cloverhill District Court tomorrow morning.

Meet the new Cabinet team and learn about their responsibilities:

Today, I announced my new Cabinet to the Dáil. I wanted to tell you, as a Fianna Fáil supporter, why I have made these changes.Over the last two years, the entire Government has been focused on meeting the urgent challenge of stabilising the public finances and restoring international confidence in Ireland. Now we have to move on to the next stage of building a lasting recovery, and the changes I have announced are central to this.I am determined to help people back into employment through targeted support for individuals and the companies which will drive job creation. I also want to reform the way Government as a whole works by restructuring responsibilities in key departments.

I would like to welcome Ministers Pat Carey T.D., John Curran T.D. and Tony Killeen T.D. to the Cabinet table. They have this evening been presented with their Seals of Office.The actions we have taken over the past 2 years are restoring international confidence in the Irish economy, and improving our competitiveness. With this foundation in place, I want all areas of Government to focus on job creation and ensuring Ireland is positioned to benefit from the global economic upturn when it comes. These reforms are designed with exactly that in mind.With my new team in place, I'm looking ahead to tackling the challenges we face - promoting job creation, investing in people, and ensuring the creation of opportunities for everyone.

Le gach dea guí,

Taoiseach Brian Cowen, T.D.

No to Irish Defence Forces Purchase of Israeli Bullets

salams

I wanted to draw your attention to this important petition that I recently signed:"No to Irish Defence Forces Purchase of Israeli Bullets"http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/israrms/I really think this is an important cause, and I'd like to encourage you to add your signature, too. It's free and takes just a few seconds of your time.

Thanks!
wassalam

Brian Lenihan said "our plan is working"

Over the last twenty months, we have taken decisive and bold action to bring this country back from the brink of economic and financial ruin. The latest of these measures were contained in last December's budget. We made savings of €4 billion through cuts in public sector pay, an average 4% reduction in welfare payments, and through controlling expenditure in all areas of Government. These measures have stabilised our public finances and greatly increased international investor confidence in our ability to work our way out of this most difficult of economic crises. The benefits are there for all to see. Take a look at this:

http://www.fiannafail.ie/page/m/1363c3e/33741a9e/244857af/585bcc6a/1284676890/VEsE/
This graph shows the cost of borrowing for Ireland and Greece. The cost of repaying our debt has fallen because the government has made the difficult but correct choices. If Ireland had gone the way of Greece, we could have expected to pay €3.6 billion more in interest over the next 10 years on the money we have had to borrow this year: dead money that we can now divert to much needed public services.
Internationally, we are now held up as an example of a country that is facing up to its economic difficulties and taking the necessary action. Now that we have begun to stabilise our public finances, we can take the necessary measures to return to economic growth and to create and protect jobs.
Please share this email with your friends, family and colleagues:
http://www.fiannafail.ie/page/m/1363c3e/33741a9e/244857af/585bcc6a/1284676890/VEsF/
In their measured reaction to a very difficult and painful budget, the citizens of this country have shown they are willing to make sacrifices in the short term for the long term good of all. This maturity and understanding of the economic difficulties we face is the envy of other countries in Europe. Our flexibility and our foresight will be of enormous value to us as we continue to enact our plan for economic recovery.
Thank you for supporting us,

Brian Lenihan T.D. Minister for Finance